After the Funeral
by Morristown Colonial
Summary: After a long and successful life and career, Kate Beckett dies peacefully in her sleep. She is laid to rest next to her husband, Richard Castle. Her children and grand-children remember them at the poker table.
1. Chapter 1

**While ruminating about other story ideas, this hit me. I have seen one other story about the deaths of Castle and Beckett but this is slightly different take. There are references to previous seasons and the story will reference events and stories as to what season 6 will bring based on sneak peaks and actual episodes as I work on this. **

**The Castle characters are not mine and their use, or the use of any other characters, living or dead, real or imaginary and the words and opinions they may speak are my creations just for the story and should not be attributed to them. **

NY Ledger Obituary October 1, 2062

_KATHERINE HOUGHTON BECKET CASTLE __died Monday in her sleep. She was 84 years old. NYPD Captain Beckett was the wife of best selling author, Richard Castle who predeceased her three years ago. They were married for 44 years. She is survived by three children, Alexis Harper Castle-White; Jackson Beckett Castle and Joanne Beckett Castle-Cox. Captain Beckett is also survived by eight grandchildren; James Rodgers Castle-White, Meredith Rodgers Castle- White, Laura Rodgers Castle-White; Martha Beckett Castle; Jesse Beckett Castle, Roy Beckett Castle; David Castle- Cox and Rachel Castle-Cox. _

_Retired Chief of Detectives, Kevin Ryan said of Captain Beckett, "She was great cop. Careful to make sure all the rights of all were followed, both victims and accused. She was calm and comforting by nature yet tenacious when need be. Fearless for herself, but protective of all her partners. No one was ever afraid to do something for her because she would always have our back."_

"_She was a good analytical thinker," Ryan continued, "with a creative mind. Still, it was not until her 'partnership' with Richard Castle that her full potential was realized. With their partnership, nothing was impossible, no puzzle to confusing. I believe they also had a lucky star because as Castle once told me, 'A little bit of luck, never hurt no one.' Beckett was a great and patient teacher. It was because or her guidance and tutelage that the 12__th__ became the premiere precinct in NYC for solving homicides." _

_Captain Beckett was buried at the Castle family estate in the Hamptons. Only family and a few close friends were there according to the Captain's wishes. The family requests that any gifts or donations the public might wish to offer be made to the Johanna Beckett Scholarship Fund or the Roy Montgomery Fund._ For more information about the life and times of Captain Beckett and her husband, Richard Castle see today's Metro Section.

NY Ledger Metro Section October 1, 2062.

REAL LIFE NIKKI HEAT DIES PEACEFULLY THREE YEARS TO THE DAY HER REAL LIFE JAMIESON ROOK PASSES AWAY.

by: James R. Castle-White.

My Grandmother, Katherine Houghton Beckett Castle died Monday, September 25, 2062. One of the perks about being the editor of the Metro section is that I can write what I want and get it into the papers at anytime I want. That may sound egotistical, and it is but so what. Actually, I can blame that in part on my maternal grandfather, Richard Castle. Growing up I heard stories about his ego, and not just from him. My mother, great grandmother Martha and grandma Kate all loved to tell stories about his ego.

It was inevitable that my life would be filled with stories and story telling. Grandpa Rick would spend hours telling me, my siblings and cousins stories. While my mother and father worked, he and later on Grandma Kate, would take us to the their favorite park. We would swing, run around and, when we were tired, sit and eat. Afterward Grandpa Rick and Grandma Kate would tell us some stories about themselves, but they were mostly stories about our parents when they were young. All stories were G or PG rated. Grandpa Rick would then make up other stories to amuse us all till our parents came to pick us up. As we got older, Grandpa Rick, ever 'the 9 year old on a sugar rush' (Grandma Kate's favorite saying about him) would spice up some stories to PG-13 and an occasional R. I can say that now because Grandma Kate is not here. She never knew about these PG-13 or R stories (or at least there is no evidence that she did). If she had known, she would have poked Grandpa Rick in the shoulder and probably pulled on his ear a couple of times.

Our Grandparents had a profound effect on us growing up. They not only entertained us, spoiled us, and taught us but they influenced us, to some extent even more then our parents. I became a writer, really a journalist like Grandpa Rick's character, Jamieson Rook. My sister, Laura, is an FBI agent and my cousin Martha Castle will graduate from the NY Police Academy this year and become a Patrol officer, "Uniforms" as Grandma Kate called them. Like my Great-Grandpa Jim my other sister, Meredith is a lawyer, and my cousin David is in law school. Cousin Rachel wants to be an actress like Great Grandma Martha. My other cousin, Jesse is studying education and wants to be a elementary school teacher. We do not know what cousin Roy wants to be. He does have an aptitude for biology, and math, maybe he will be an MD like my mother.

As for me, Dear Readers, you already know how I turned out. My parents are into science, facts and figures. Again, Mom's a doctor and Dad's an accountant. I was not good in math or chemistry so becoming a doctor or accountant was not in my 'cards'. While the cards could not foretell my future, I could manipulate them into winning hands. I played a lot of card games with Grandpa Rick and Grandma Kate. We played for gummy bears, and match sticks mostly. When I was a little older and got an allowance, or on special occasions, I was allowed to buy a roll of nickels and my parents gave me a roll of dimes. Then my Grandparents and I played nickel and dime poker. It was a cutthroat game. Grandpa Rick and Grandma Kate showed no mercy. Grandpa Rick tried to distract me with stories. Grandma Kate showed me how to look at the facts (what cards were on the table, what I had in my hand, how they all were betting) so I could make educated bets. Eventually I became pretty good at playing. It helped that Great Grandma Martha told me how to read Grandpa Rick's body language. I played so well that eventually I never went away a looser. Either I came out a few dollars more, or left with the same amount I went in with. I guess being able to take facts as they showed (cards and body language) and use them to create a story (bluff or no bluff) led me to becoming a journalist. Writing about the facts. The best combination of both Grandma Kate and Grandpa Rick.

Well, this is about as much as I can tell you about Katherine Houghton Beckett Castle and Richard Castle from my own knowledge. While I was privileged to call them Grandma and Grandpa, the time I had with them was way too short. There are stories and short biographies about Grandma Kate and Grandpa Rick but they are just facts and figures.

I figured the best way to preserve their legacy was to get the stories from the ones who knew them longest for the period of time that they were together.

**This chapter is shorter then my usual chapter length. I hope to build some excitement and what with everyone's busy schedules, now that summer is over, it is easier to read in one sitting. **

**Even with spell check and grammar check, I do not think I have caught all the typos, misspellings and grammar phobas. Please forgive me, I will continue to strive to do better. **

**I would love to hear all your comments, good bad or indifferent. They help me to be a better writer.**


	2. Chapter 2

**The round table discussions begin. This is mostly a recap of previous seasons, as recalled by Alexis and her siblings. You may infer some references to season 6, but the next chapter will definitely have them. **

**The Castle characters are not mine and their use, or the use of any other characters, living or dead, real or imaginary and the words and opinions they may speak are my creations just for the story and should not be attributed to them. **

After the funeral and internment, when the spouses went back to work, when the siblings and cousins went back to work or school, I spent the whole day with my mother, Alexis, my uncle Jack (Jackson) and my aunt Joanne. We were at the poker table in the family room and talked while we played cards.

_James Rodgers Castle-White, _(JRCW): Mom, this group has all heard the story about how Grandma Kate and Grandpa Rick met, but now for the record tell us again.

_Alexis Harper Castle-White. _(AHCW): Great-grandma Martha, Grams as I liked to call her and I were at another of Grandpa Rick's book signings. This one was a little different though. He had just killed off his main character, the hero of so many of his successful books, Derrick Storm. Dad, oh sorry, you'll have to forgive me if I slip back and forth between Dad and Grandpa Rick. You get the general gist.

_Jackson Beckett Castle. _(JBC); It will probably happen to me too. Also when I refer to Mom, I mean Grandma Kate.

_Joanne Beckett Castle-Cox,_ (JBCC): Me too.

AHCW: Dad was having some writing issues. He was long overdue for his next book and his publisher, my ex-step-mother, Gina, was really mad. Gina, you know was Grandpa Rick's second wife. His first wife, my biological mother, Meredith was not there.

_James Rodgers Castle-White, _(JRCW): You mean the one Grandpa Rick referred to as the "Deep Fried Twinkie."

_Alexis Harper Castle-White. _(AHCW): Hey, watch it now. That is your Grandmother too. If it weren't for her, I would not be here.

JRCW: Sorry Mom, please continue.

AHCW: Well Dad was not in the best of moods. He was not enjoying the party as much as he usually did. I overheard him arguing with Gina about the new book being due and why did he have to kill Derrick Storm off so dramatically. Dad, said writing Derrick Storm was not fun anymore, it was too much like work. Grams had told Gina that Grandpa Rick was having trouble writing. I was sitting at the end of the bar, doing homework when Dad came over to me. He tried to give me an alcoholic drink even. He was missing the surprises of life. That's when Grandma Kate came up to him, surprised him and changed all our lives.

JRCW: How did she surprise him?

AHCW: We were talking about his fans and their lines to him. He said "Just once I'd like someone to come to me and say something new." At that moment, Grandma Kate came up to him. He turned around to her and said, "Where would you like it?" She held up her badge and said, "Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD, we need to ask you about a murder that took place earlier tonight." Dad was stunned. That was case where a murderer was killing people the same way Dad did in some of his books. Grandpa Rick was very curious about this case. Curious is the polite way to describe it. To have a copy cat killer was 'red badge of honor, criminal Cooperstown.' He wanted the pictures to show off. When he came home, he regretted that he wanted the pictures, only a little bit (_smile_). He seemed excited.

JRCW: Excited?

AHCW: As part of the investigation, Grandma Kate asked Dad for all his fan mail. There was a lot of it. As a show of good faith, he went to the Captain of the precinct at the time, Roy Montgomery and offered to help with this matter. The Captain thought it would be a good idea. Grandma Kate was not happy, but Captain Montgomery told her to deal with it. When they were reading the mail together, Grandma Kate asked him why he was doing this. Dad said maybe reading these letters would jog his memory about something. Truth was he enjoyed reading his fan letters complementary or otherwise. Also, he was very taken with Grandma Kate.

_Jackson Beckett Castle. _(JBC); I remember Dad finally admitting to that. They were talking about things at their 40th wedding anniversary. Dad teasing Mom about who liked who first.

_Joanne Beckett Castle-Cox,_ (JBCC): I remember that. I think Aunt Lannie said something about it taking a bomb to have Mom admit that she loved Dad. That is when they both went into the "discussion" about who liked who first, who was jealous of who, who said what to who. James, I bet you can picture it. Your grandparents got into this grove, they started to finish each other's sentences, say things at the same time, all of which was very funny. The whole party started to laugh.

JBC; Then Dad told Mom he had another anniversary gift for her. In front of all their family and friends he said, "Kate, my love, my dearest, in front of all these witnesses, I admit to you that from the time we sat down to read those letters on our first case together, I found you very intriguing. I could not resist you. You were a mystery I was never going to solve. Even now, after spending all these years with you, I'm still amazed at the depths of your strength, your heart and your hotness. I fell in love with you very soon after that and have not stopped loving you since."

_Alexis Harper Castle-White_(AHCW): Yea, I remember that. Mom got up to say that she was flattered by all the attention she was getting from him on that first case. She was a big fan girl from the start, even if her mother, Great-Grandma Johanna, was the first to enjoy Grandpa Rick's books. Grandma Kate said she first thought my Dad could be her 'one and done' after the Dick Coonan matter. She had some doubts after Dad left with Gina that one summer, but when they met up on the counterfeiting case and Dad told her the universe put them together again, she had renewed hope, even though there were still hurdles.

_James Rodgers Castle-White, _(JRCW): Such as?

AHCW: Dr. Joshua Davidson

JBC/JBCC: Mom told us he was no big deal.

AHCW: Maybe not in the long run, but at the time Mom, really, really liked him. It made Dad very unhappy. Still, Dad saw signs that Davidson would probably not last very long. His frequent trips away, the infrequency that Grandma Kate actually talked about him and other little things. After Mom recovered from being shot, Davidson was out of the picture and Dad realized the biggest obstacle was Grandma Kate herself. She was so involved in bringing Great-Grandma Johanna's killers to justice that couldn't give all the time and attention to anyone she liked that was necessary to form a strong, long lasting relationship. All her other boyfriends eventually left because they could not or would not wait. She admitted that to Dad on the swings.

JRCW: What did Grandpa Rick think when Grandma Kate admitted that?

AHCW: He told me that Mom's admission to him was a huge break through for her and him. He said he could wait and that admission was enough for then.

JRCW: It still took another year to get together and two more crisis before the proposal.

_Joanne Beckett Castle-Cox,_ (JBCC): Mom told me about those things when I was having love issues one year. She had heard Dad admit his love after she was shot. She really loved Dad too, but was still unsure of herself. The shooting, that fact that her attempted killer was still out there. Her extreme anger at what happened, all consumed her while she recovered. And when she got back to the precinct, Dad was not there. When Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin told her what Dad found during the investigation, she had to get him back.

_Jackson Beckett Castle _(JBC): Funny, Dad told me about that one time too. I was in love with my now wife, and I knew she at liked, but she wouldn't admit it. There were family issues which plagued her, a bad relationship with her mother, father and brother. Many a time we were off and on, on and off. I did not know what to do. Dad said to tell her that you love her but you have to move on. Well I did and a week later her father died. She came to me and told me she wanted me, she loved me. I asked her what happened. On her father's death bed, she had it out with him and her mother. All sat stunned, but each admitted to the other their hopes and fears and by the time my wife left the room, she had made peace with them all.

JBCC: Yeah, Jack, but it still took you awhile to get married.

JBC: Just like Mom and Dad.

_Alexis Harper Castle-White_(AHCW): Well, what you guys have left out was that Mom and Dad still had issues. Sure they got together and were having a good time. I was there and it appeared to me that they were very happy about the status quo. For over a year everything was good and there biggest worry was keeping their relationship a secret from Captain Gates, Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin and Aunt Lannie. Uncle Kevin finally figured out Mom and Dad's relationship. He kept it quiet until the time Dad got in trouble by 3XK. Then he told Uncle Javi and Aunt Lannie before Mom did. That was good because I think that if they did not know and Mom told them, they would have been hurt, even though Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin had been trying to figure it out themselves, with Dad misdirecting them.

_James Rodgers Castle-White, _(JRCW): Then what happened?

AHCW: During that horror show, Grandma Kate really showed her Dad, her love for him. With all the evidence pointing against him, including very incriminating e-mails suggesting that Dad was having an affair with the victim, Grandma Kate believed him. Even the boys (Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin) had a hard time believing Dad. When that was over, Dad knew that Grandma Kate was the one.

JBCC/JBC: What about Mom?

AHCW: Well, I do not know for sure. I can only tell you the facts as I saw, or heard, about them. The rest is my take on the whole thing. Mom loved Dad. She had broken the restraints that Great Grandma Johanna's death had over her. Mom made several gestures to demonstrate her love for Dad, the most grand was the most simple. On their first Valentine's day together, Dad got Mom gorgeous earrings. In trying to make is a surprise, Dad accidently put them in Captain Gates' pocket. He had to tell Mom and it ruined the surprise. Eventually he got them back, after Gates dressed Dad down.

JRCW: Hold on a second, Captain Gates knew the about the earrings, but did not put that together with the fact that Grandpa Rick was dating Grandma Kate?

AHCW; Good connection my dear boy.

JRCW: Thank you.

AHCW: The answer to that though is inconclusive. Grandpa Rick told Gates that the earrings were for her to try and get in her good graces, especially after they had bonded, well sort of, over the Wives of Wall Street Realty show. Whether she actually believed his story can be debated.

JBC: I remember. Mom told me once that after the Bomb scare, she was kissing Dad when Captain Gates came up to them. The Captain told her to kiss the man for staying with her and helping to save her. "You knew," they both asked Gates. She said she had known for some time, but could continue to work with them so long as they did not fool around at the precinct. Dad started out with one of his jokes, but then he and Mom agreed. It seems very plausible that Gates knew about the dating as early as when the earrings were found in her pocket.

AHCW: Very good. That is why I say inconclusive.

JBCC: Alexis, what about Valentine's Day?

AHCW: Well, I am sure you both heard the story. Mom and Dad were teasing each other about who got who the better gift. When they went back to Mom's apartment, she showed Dad and empty draw. It was his draw in her apartment. Her gift to him. It was perfect.

JRCW: I get it. Concrete proof of her affection for Grandpa Rick. With all these signs of love and affection, what was happening? Why did it take so long for Grandpa to propose? And why after that did it take so long for them to get married?

AHCW: Well, you guys know that Grandpa Rick could be very childish. It was not a mental issue, just that he loved to play. He did not take a lot seriously, or more correctly, he did not like to show his serious side too often. He was having fun doing what he could. He told Grandma Kate once that his money did not fundamentally change him. It rather allowed him more freedom to do what he wanted, i.e. spend time with me, Grams, his friends and play.

JBC: Mom told me that his persona "was like a nine-year old on a sugar rush." It was actually one of the things that she loved about him.

JBCC: Yeah but nine-year olds can get board of things very quickly, right James? And sometimes they do not share well. I remember you and I playing at Mom and Dads. You kept taking the toys I wanted away from me. Eventually, I got tired and left.

JRCW: What's that got to do with Grandma Kate and Grandpa Rick?

_Alexis Harper Castle-White_(AHCW): That is one of the things that Grandma Kate was worried about. I overheard her talking to Aunt Lannie about it when she interviewed for the job in DC. Grandma Kate did not know where the relationship was going. Both she and Grandpa Rick were having a great time, but given Grandpa Rick's reputation and two failed marriages, there was a little itch at the back of Grandma Kate's neck. She knew that it was not Dad's fault about the marriages. Still, he was the common denominator to both and maybe he contributed just a tad. I think her biggest fear was that Dad would get tired of this game they were playing.

JRCW: What was Grandpa Rick's fear?

AHCW: Well Grandma Kate had a history of diving into work if things got to tough or too close. He appreciated the fact that she had let him in. That she claimed her obsession with Great-Grandma Johanna's murder. He believed that she believed she was over it. That was a huge breakthrough but then two incident's came up that almost wrecked the whole thing. One was the DC job of course and the other was the English Billionaire incident.

JBC/JBCC: We don't know about that?

AHCW: That was not either of their finest hours. But in the long run, it brought them together. Erik Vaughn was an English Billionaire. Handsome, charming. He was in NYC at dinner with friends and co-workers when one of them died in a restaurant. Mom and Dad were assigned to the case. Vaughn asked that Mom to be his bodyguard while the killer was loose. She had to spend an overnight with him at his hotel suite. Dad was not happy about that. He was jealous. He urged the Boys, Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin, to help him solve this case right away. At one point a sniper's bullet barley missed killing Vaughn. When Dad and the Boys got to the scene they found out that the reason the bullet missed Vaughn because he was leaning in to kiss Mom. Although she did not kiss him, she was tempted.

JBC/JBCC/JRCW: Wow

JRCW: How did that make Grandpa Rick feel?

AHCW: I do not know for sure. I saw him moping around the loft a lot. When Grandma Kate came over, he was a little bit more attentive. One night before I went back to the dorms, I saw him setting up the bathroom with candles, flowers and he said they were to show Grandma Kate how much he cared. I told him that was a good start but she may want more. He asked me, "What?" but I told him I really did not know. They should talk about it.

_James Rodgers Castle-White, _(JRCW): Did they?

_Alexis Harper Castle-White_(AHCW): No.

JRCW: Why not?

AHCW: I am not really sure. Maybe both were scared about what the other would say or think. Maybe they thought that actions spoke louder then words.

JRCW: What do you mean by that?

AHCW: Well you know about Grandma Kate on the bomb. Dad stayed with her to the end, at the risk of his life. They figured out the disarm code and they both walked out alive. I think at that point Grandma Kate knew that Dad would always have her back.

JRCW: What did Grandpa Rick get out of that?

AHCW: Grandma Kate for the first time, told Grandpa Rick that she loved him.

JBC/JBCC/JRCW: What's saying 'I love you' got to do with it?

AHCW: I guess you all missed the romantic, theatric gene from Dad, and Great Grandma Martha. The first time you say it to someone it is a public affirmation, whether said in public or just to your love, of your true feelings. Actions can be misinterpreted but saying I love you cannot.

JRCW: I love you Mom

JBC/JBCC: We love you sis.

AHCW: Now you are getting the picture.

JRCW: There is still the DC phase and then coming back to NYC.

**There will be at least one more chapter, to get Castle, Beckett and the family through the DC phase and back to NY. It will also include some speculation as to what the rest of season 6 will bring and what a possible season 7 could look like. **

**THANK YOU FOR all the wonderful and constructive reviews. I will keep them in mind when I write. As always, please let me know what you think, good bad or indifferent.**


	3. Chapter 3

**The round table discussions continues. This has some references to seasons 1-4, more to season 5 as mostly recalled by Alexis and her siblings. It also has reference to season 6, episode 1 and my take on what the rest of the season will bring. **

**The Castle characters are not mine and their use, or the use of any other characters, living or dead, real or imaginary and the words and opinions they may speak are my creations just for the story and should not be attributed to them. **

_James Rodgers Castle-White, _(JRCW): The DC phase?

_Alexis Harper Castle-White _(AHCW): Yes. There was a case Grandma Kate and Grandpa Rick worked on concerning a pirated drone. A special unit of the Department of Justice, Attorney General's office was involved because of National Security. When the investigator saw Grandma Kate work, he was very impressed. Agent Stack told her so and he set up an interview with the group for her. She went for the interview without telling Grandpa Rick or Uncle Javi or Uncle Kevin.

JRCW: So?

_Joanne Beckett Castle-Cox,_ (JBCC): Jim, when you were dating your wife, would you have told about a job in another city which, if you got it, would impact your relationship with her?

_Jackson Beckett Castle _(JBC): Even I know the answer to that.

JRCW: Oh, I get it.

AHCW: Grandpa Rick was very upset. You know that he loved Grandma Kate. It took him 4 years to get though to her. Even after they started dating, Grandpa Rick wasn't sure that Grandma Kate was all in the relationship. As the year progressed, he became more sure she was until the Erik Vaughn incident. That was a set back. Then when Grandma Kate didn't tell him about the relationship, he thought that she might have been looking for a way out. Keeping secrets is not a good thing when building a relationship.

JBCC: Well in fairness to Mom, she told me that DC job was once in a lifetime opportunity. She did love Dad, but with the DC job, she would be working on a national stage. I think she even thought that she could get information to get the person that ordered Grandma Johanna's murder.

JBC: I spoke to Dad about that once. He told me that he was really hurt by what Mom did, but he really loved her. He said that her holding that secret, even though Mom did not think she would get the job got him very scared. Remember his first marriage broke up because of infidelity and the second one broke because of lack of communication.

AHCW: I guess both Mom and Dad still had issues. Luckily, their parents were there to give them sage advice. Mom told me that in her discussion with Grandpa Jim crystalized her decision. He told her that her decision should not be based on fear of any consequences like the fear of losing Dad, or fear of resenting him later on if she stayed with him. It should be based on what she wanted now. Mom decided she needed the job.

JRCW: Kind of odd decision in light of all that had happened in the past. I mean she and Grandpa Rick had been through so much. He might have on occasion pushed her envelope, like opening up Great-Grandma Johanna's murder, but then he helped get her killer. So many times he worked with her and together they came up with the answer to the case. Uncle Javi told me that many times, they would spout the same answer at the same time.

JBC/JBCC: We heard them do it to us many times.

JRCW: Yeah, just like that. It was as if they were already married for a long time.

_Alexis Harper Castle-White _(AHCW): Love is very complicated. You all lived through most of my ups and downs and I did not have half the issues Mom and Dad had to work through. As I was lucky to have Dad and Mom, so to were they lucky. Grandpa Jim clarified Mom's thoughts in the same way Grams, my Grandmother clarified for Dad. Give me a second. [Alexis goes for a book on the shelf] This you know is a book Dad put together for their 10th anniversary. It is compilation of the Caskett all time quotes. Over the years they added to it till the day he died. A few days before the swing proposal, Grams had a talk with dad. Her words to Dad as they discussed what happened when he found the plane ticket to DC, went something like this._"...Katherine is a bright ambitious woman and she should be interviewing for that job. You want her to put you first when neither one of you know where the relationship is going. That is as absurd as your not signing that check for Alexis' program _[that is a discussion for later]_. I know you, you do not hold back. Except this thing with Katherine, it took you what, 3 years to tell her how you felt, another year to act on it and now first sign of trouble, your ready to run. ...This is who she is. I know you say you love her, but darling is it possible that the reason you've held back is that somewhere deep down inside you don't think this really going to work._"

_James Rodgers Castle-White, _(JRCW): That speech had some impact.

JBC/JBCC: We're glad it did.

AHCW: It crystalized Dad's thinking. [again from the book]

_Grandma Kate-__ You seem so serious _

_Grandpa Rick__- __Of course I'm serious, this is the most serious thing I have ever done._

_Kate-__ Castle I love you, but this is my shot. If I don't do this, I'll always regret it. Look if this changes anything for you, if it changes the way you feel, I'll..._

_Rick-__ Kate I'm not proposing to keep you here, or that I'm afraid I'm going to loose you, I'm proposing to you because I can't imagine my life without you, If that means when things get difficult, we have to figure them out, then I'm willing to figure them, assuming you're willing to figure them out with me._

_Kate- __Well in that case, Richard Edgar Alexander Rodgers Castle, yes, yes, I will marry you._

JRCW: Ah, I think I see. Given both had insecurities, both wanted to see where the relationship was going, that exchange was necessary to cement the rest of their lives together.

_Jackson Beckett Castle _(JBC): Yeah, I think Mom's last doubt was Dad's support of her. The fact that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her NO MATTER what she did, closed the case for Dad. He was her 'one and done.'

_Joanne Beckett Castle-Cox,_ (JBCC): I agree. And when Dad heard Mom reaffirm her love for him and then accept his proposal any of his lingering doubts that their relationship would not last disappeared for good.

AHCW: Whatever hurdles came their way, and there were still plenty of those, they knew that they would figure them out together.

**This is a short one. I have not posted for a time, moving and all, so I wanted to get this in. I plan to finish DC and how I get them back to NY. **

**As always your comments and critiques, good, bad or indifferent are most welcome. It helps me get better. **


	4. Chapter 4

**The round table discussion continues. Most references are to season 5 and 6, with a little 1-4 as needed. It also has references to season 6 episode 1-3 and my take on what the rest of the season will bring. The Castle characters are not mine and their use, or the use of any other characters, living or dead, real or imaginary and the words and opinions they may speak are my creations just for the story and should not be attributed to them. **

_Alexis Harper Castle-White _(AHCW): Whatever hurdles came their way, and there were still plenty of those, they knew that they would figure them out together.

_James Rodgers Castle-White, _(JRCW): I get that Grandma Kate was going to take the job in DC, but why did you call it 'The DC phase?'

AHCW: Well at the time, no one knew it was just a 'phase.' Grandma Kate always excelled at what she put her mind too. The DC job was something she wanted so bad that she was willing to let Grandpa Rick go. When they got engaged, each showed their comment to each other full well expecting that Grandma Kate would be great at her new job. Each knew that this 'Tale of Two Cities' would be very difficult. For what seemed a long time to them, Grandma Kate and Grandpa Rick, rarely saw each other. Near the end of Grandma Kate's training, Grandpa Rick surprised her one weekend and went down to DC. She was working on her first real case. Grandpa Rick, as was his want, insinuated himself into the case. Both Grandma Kate and her bosses severely reprimanded Grandpa Rick for working the case. He agreed to stay out. However, fate brought him squarely into the middle of it.

JRCW: This was the one where Grandpa Rick got 'deathly sick'?

AHCW: Yes, I remember him being dragged out of the NYC loft, that was very scary. Then Grandma Kate called us down to the hospital a day later. Grams and I were very scared. Pi was trying to be helpful and did a healing thing. I do not know if it helped, but given Grandpa Rick's condition, it couldn't hurt.

_Jackson Beckett Castle _(JBC): I remember Pi. You and he were friends for a long time, even after you married, Derrick.

_Joanne Beckett Castle-Cox _(JBCC):Yeah, Dad actually got to like him, especially when you married Derrick. He even forgave Pi, the whole "Spelling stifles creativity thing."

AHCW: Let's save room for Pi later.

JRCW; JBC; JBCC: ugghhh. Like we haven't heard that before, especially from Grandpa Rick [Dad].

AHCW: As I was saying, Dad's near death experience really shook Mom. Throughout their relationship, it was Mom who was always getting into life and death situations, if they were not in it together. This was the first time Mom faced the real possibility of life without Dad and it scared her very much. They both were very unhappy with the two city life because they did not realize how little time they would have together, even thought the cities were relatively close. The few times they had together were great, but could not be a basis for a long-lasting life together. I think Dad felt it more then Mom because without her in NYC, Captain Gates made life hard for him at the precinct. He could pal around with Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin after work, but it was not the same. At least Mom had her work which kept her very busy, especially since she was the new kid.

JRCW: Grandpa Rick had his work too.

AHCW: True, but he could work anywhere he had a computer. Eventually he realized the powerful implications of this and made a decision to rent a place in DC for him and Grandma Kate. He knew he would have a hard time curbing his curiosity and be worried every day because he would not be able to be with Grandma Kate and protect her like he did in NYC, but he needed her.

_Jackson Beckett Castle _(JBC): I never knew Mom and Dad had a place in DC?

AHCW: Well they did not have it very long. Mom had nagging doubts about DC and its culture soon after she got there. The job was great, but very different then in NYC. Working for the Attorney General meant solving the case before anybody could get hurt, or if someone were hurt, to minimize injury or death to others. Frequently, there were many people involved, the guilty, the apathetic, and those covering their ass. Only those directly responsible for any criminal act were held liable. Even then, a criminal act could be covered up if those responsible moved to high places in government. The man indirectly responsible for Dad's near death experience was not punished at all.

JBCC: Why was NY different?

AHCW: In NY, the guilty and those indirectly responsible were punished. Mom's position also was more clear. Unfortunately, when she was called, the crime had already been committed. Her job in NY was to prevent the guilty from committing more crimes and to be punished for what they did. It was much more black and white, not the 50 Shades of Grey that DC was. At the end of the case, there was justice for the victim and their friends and family. Mom liked that much more. For her, the 'Big Picture' was the people directly affected by the event, not some amorphous group that may or may not be affected by it.

JRCW: So what eventually happened?

AHCW: In her quest for justice and fairness for all, Grandma Kate leaked some false information to the press.

JRCW: What a source she must have been!

_Alexis Harper Castle-White _(AHCW): Well, in that line of work, any non authorized disclosure could get you fired, or worse arrested. Grandma Kate's information leak was found out by her bosses and she was fired.

JBC/JBCC: She must have been mad and humiliated.

AHCW: At first she was. We were all so proud of her for doing what she did, and told her so. We all missed her too. Even her DC co-workers knew what she did was morally right. Eventually she got over it.

JRCW: So?

AHCW: She came back to NYC. Everybody was excited to have her back. However, the NYPD had moved on without her. They had transferred someone else to her position. Her replacement, while not as good as Grandma Kate, he was acceptable. It took a long time for her to get back on the force permanently.

JRCW: What did she do in the meantime?

AHCW: She filled in as a consultant, like Grandpa Rick. Helped with some of the wedding plans and studied for promotions in the NYPD which she eventually got.

_Jackson Beckett Castle _(JBC): I remember Mom going down to DC a few times before she became Captain at the 12th.

AHCW: That is true. Although she was fired from the Attorney General's Task Force, she had impressed a lot of people there including, her old partner, Rachel McCord, Hendricks and their boss Special Agent Carl Villante. Her hard work in DC earned Mom their respect. Even before that Mom had impressed FBI Special Agent Jordan Shaw on a serial murder investigation. They all called on Mom to help them on occasion with difficult cases. They needed outside the box thinkers. One case was so complicated that both Mom and Dad went down together.

_Joanne Beckett Castle-Cox,_ (JBCC): I remember that. You had to babysit us for a few days.

AHCW: Yes.

JRCW: That one case with Special Agent Shaw, I read about that when I was doing some research on a paper. That involved a serial murderer name Scott Dunn. He was going after Mom, but thought she was Nikki Heat.

AHCW: That is the one. I was talking to Laura, your sister, recently. She said that case was required reading at the FBI academy. That and the 3XK cases.

JRCW: All involved Grandma Kate and Grandpa Rick.

AHCW: Well, as fate would have it, both were instrumental in the final matters with both. 3XK became obsessed with Grandpa Rick. Grandpa was the one to figure out he was the killer originally. Then 3XK framed Grandpa Rick and it took all Grandma Kate and Grandpa Rick had to clear his name. At the end, Grandpa shot 3XK to free Grandma from him. All, except Grandpa Rick, thought 3XK was dead when he fell into the East River. His body was never recovered though. As for Scott Dunn, he was obsessed with Grandma Kate. Nikki Heat, Grandma's alter ego, defeated him and sent him to prison.

JRCW: How were Grandma Kate and Grandpa Rick instrumental in their final matters?

AHCW: Still, nobody knows for sure, but 3XK and Scott Dunn found out about each other. 3XK helped Dunn escape by making it look like Dunn died in prison. When the body was shipped out, 3XK met up with him and showed him the news that Grandma and Grandpa were engaged and the wedding date. Since each had a big grudge against them, they teamed up to stop the wedding and end the engagement permanently.

JBC: Tell us some more. We never got the full story.

AHCW: It was very gruesome and upsetting. There were kidnapings and murders a few weeks before Mom and Dad's wedding. Mom was already a Lieutenant in the NYPD, but when some of Mom and Dad's friends were hurt badly she left the precinct with Dad, Uncle Kevin and Uncle Javi to get them. Both Mom and Dad decided the wedding had to wait until this evil was destroyed once and for all. It took all the skill Mom and Dad had along with help from Mom's FBI friends to get them.

JBCC: What happened, what was it about?

AHCW: Suffice it to say that Dunn and 3XK got justice and their bodies were buried in unmarked graves. Even after they were dead and buried it took Mom and Dad a few months before they could go through with the wedding.

_James Rodgers Castle-White, _(JRCW): Look what I found [opening up a book]. A wedding album. I do not think I have ever seen this.

JBCC/JBC: Oh yeah, we haven't seen this in years.

JBCC: There you are Alexis.

AHCW: Give me that. Wow, what memories that brings back.

JRCW: Do tell.

AHCW: Well, it's getting late and I have to get back to the city, but the short version goes like this, Mom and Dad wanted to have a meaningful wedding. Dad thought it should be big because he was marrying the best woman in the world. His publisher's agreed. Mom wanted it romantic and intimate. She loved Dad but this was a special day for her too. She knew she had to share him with the public but there was plenty of time later. This was her one and done and this day was for family and close friends only.

JRCW: And?

AHCW: There was much discussion about it, lip biting, eye rolling, sleepless nights. People even took sides.

JRCW: Which side did you take?

AHCW: That is for a later time. What ended up happening is that Great-Grandma Martha got the flu bad. She was very sick. Great-Grandpa Jim got sick a few days later. He may have gotten the flu from Grams or somewhere, but with his alcohol damaged liver, his sickness was much more serious. Both Mom and Dad were worried 'sick'. When both great grandparents recovered, Mom and Dad wanted to get married right away. In a somewhat hastily arranged wedding, they were married at Grandma Kate's friend's, Maddie, restaurant. There were about 50 people there. It was small and intimate. Grandma Kate was happy. No press were there and no mention of the marriage in the paper.

JRCW: I'm sure Grandpa Rick was not going to let his grand plans drop that easily.

AHCW: He found a way to make it happen in a way Grandma Kate would like. The gala for Great Grandma Johanna and Captain Roy Montgomery's Scholarship was scheduled for two months after the wedding. As usual, there were some press there taking pictures and about 300 people. At the gala, Grandpa Rick asked how much people would pay to see him and Grandma Kate be married. People laughed and called out all sorts of numbers. Then Grandpa Rick told the gala guests to put whatever they wanted to in the envelopes on the tables. After that, a video of the wedding ceremony was played. Everyone stood up and clapped. Grandma Kate was stunned. Grandpa Rick then had Great Grandpa Jim and Grandma Kate have a father/daughter wedding dance, while he danced with Great Grandma Martha and me, and then his wife. It was a grand time. The papers were full of pictures and stories. It was the largest raise of money for those scholarships in their history. Jackson, you were born about 11 months after the gala and the rest you know about.

JBC/JBCC/JRCW: Wow

After all that, we all took our leave. Back to the city and our families. We all knew we would be back with our families both alone and together with brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins and their families. Grandpa Rick and Grandma Kate made sure that there was money enough to care for the house and grounds for many, many years to come. The Hamptons became our Hyannis Port. Officially it was called "The Rodgers Beckett-Castle Estate" but to us it was the "Hamptons." As we locked the door to the Hamptons House we all heard Grandma Kate and Grandpa Rick say "Nite."

**I could end this here. I know that there are stories for Alexis as she mentioned things with little or no explanation. I would love to hear all your comments, good bad or indifferent, specifically about whether I should start a whole new story about Alexis or continue this. **

**I will decide soon.**

**All comments and reviews, good, bad or indifferent are always welcome. They help me to be a better writer.**


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